KUMIAI INDIO BASKET WEAVING

Professional Kumiai basketweaver Virginia Melendrez weaves a coiled juncus basket in her San Jose de la Zorra kitchen next to the heat of a homemade burning wood stove, and a juncus bundle of traditionally-cured weaving reeds on the table. The juncus grows wild in the Kumeyaay valley and has been used by the California Indians for thousands of years.

Hover on/off or click on photo to see original color photograph.

This picture was taken in December 2004 before her home was wired for electricity. Prior to electrical wiring, Virginia burned one oil lamp on the table to light the room as she weaved her baskets (I recall she moved the lamp out of the picture and I didn't get too pushy about it -- though I wish I had. The lamp is in its normal spot in the photo below she took with her son).

The camera flash is what's lighting up the room.

Photos taken December 2004: The winters can get quite cold up in the rural desert mountain valley -- note the heavy layered clothing and wood burning cookstove being used for both heating the home and cooking.

Virginia takes a photo with her son at the kitchen table where she works weaving traditional Indian baskets. The oil lamp was left in place, the photo prints in heavy zip lock bags in front of the oil lamp are what I printed and brought from previous photo shoots.

I've found bringing free photos, in this case compensation for their signed model releases on this project, gets a lot better cooperation making new photos.

And I brought a lot of free digital photo prints like this into the ejidos.

A year after these pictures were taken, late 2005, Virginia had a large white refrigerator running in this room, and hard wired electric lights lighting the area.

She was still using the cookstove for heat and cooking.

The pictured basket she is weaving is coiled split juncus on a bundled split juncus foundation. It is constructed with undyed juncus (tan), juncus dyed black with oak bark and rusty metal, undyed basal juncus (reddish-brown). She had been working on this basket fulltime for about two weeks.

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To buy purchase this Kumeyaay Indian artist's authentic San Jose de la Zorra Kumeyaay Indian baskets basketry, her traditional arts and crafts, please visit the Shumup Ko Hup "Dream Come True" Indian store in Old Town State Historic Park, San Diego, California.

San Jose de la Zorra Kumeyaay Indigenous community online documentary, Kumeyaay photos pictures of Kumeyaay basketweavers, basket weaving, overall documentary style photo documentation of the village inhabitants, habitations, living conditions.

To buy purchase this Kumeyaay Indian artist's authentic San Jose de la Zorra Kumeyaay Indian baskets basketry, her traditional arts and crafts, please visit the Shumup Ko Hup "Dream Come True" Indian store in Old Town State Historic Park, San Diego, California.

CALIFORNIA INDIAN BASKET MUSEUMS Kumeyaay basketry, basket makers, basketweaving photos pictures. Old antique historical baskets, new contemporary California Indian baskets featuring the Indigenous California basket weavers of the San Jose de la Zorra Kumeyaay Indians of northern Baja California, Mexico, including picture photo documentary and information to buy and sell fine Native American Indian baskets.

Photos, Writing and Web Page Design Contributed by webmaster, GARY G BALLARD, San Diego.

Photos, Writing and Web Page Design Contributed by webmaster, GARY G BALLARD, San Diego.